RIDGEFIELD PARK – Sophomore guard Ralph Marinas atoned in overtime for Ridgefield Park, after standing alone at the foul line and missing two free throws with no time left in regulation that could have won it.

Marinas opened the scoring in overtime with a gutsy catch-and-shoot three-pointer from the right corner to give the Scarlets a three-point lead in a 52-45 victory over Bergenfield in Saturday's nightcap of the Brian Long Classic at Ridgefield Park.

Marinas’ putback with 11 seconds left in the fourth had tied the score at 41. His box-out after a Bergenfield miss earned an over-the-back foul call and a trip to the foul line with no time remaining. He hit four treys, scored 14 points and was chosen the Scarlets’ most valuable player.

“He’s a 5-foot-7 sophomore, he’s 120 pounds soaking wet, and when you miss two free throws with no time on the clock, you certainly can hang your head,” coach Chris Gaskin said. “But he came right back out there, he plays excellent defense for us, he knocked down that big shot, he’s a pleasure to coach, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Tenafly still learning how to finish

Tenafly is still learning how to finish close games. A senior-led team that already has two gut-wrenching losses finished on a positive note with a 56-42 victory over Cresskill.

“Part of the game is knowing how to close,” said coach Jeff Koehler, “knowing that you’re up four or five points with a minute left.”

Tenafly (4-4) could be 6-2 if it had played a little better in the final minutes of an overtime loss to Dumont and a three-point loss to Westwood.

The Tigers allowed Cresskill (3-5) to climb within striking distance before finishing with good passing and free throws in this Coaches Vs. Cancer basketball event. They need work rotating the ball away from double-teams.

“We know we have to move the ball around,” said senior Alon Aboodi, who scored seven of his 12 points in the fourth and was chosen the Tigers’ MVP. “Especially out of the trap, there’s always a guy open, and if we hit that guy, we break down their defense.”

Cresskill rebuilds for postseason

No North Jersey school lost more players to graduation than Cresskill, which is replacing five starters and 10 veterans overall from a team that reached last season’s NJSIAA Group 1 final.

Six of the Cougars’ first seven players are underclassmen, featuring junior forward Kristian Radovich, whose older brother, Luka, was the star of last season’s team. The younger Radovich scored a game-high 22 against Tenafly and was team MVP.

“We’re young but we still want to challenge ourselves now, as we did with our [Jack Reilly] holiday tournament,” coach Dan Egorow said. “Playing Tenafly gives us experience and hopefully it pays off down the road in February.”

Park Ridge surpasses last season

Park Ridge (2-5) already has one more victory than all of last season, thanks to Saturday’s 65-41 win over New Milford (2-5). Last season, the Owls won their season opener and did not win again.

“It’s always good to get a win. They have been few and far between the last couple of years,” coach Adam Kaplan said. “Hopefully we’re starting to understand what it takes to win at this level.”

“We’ve been working hard in practice every day and we’ve been working towards this day,” said the 6-foot-3 McDowell, who scored 12 in the second half and was the team’s MVP. “We’ve been working for that second win a long time and we hope to keep this up in the future.”